How entrepreneur Charlene Ree balances EternityX – her AI marketing platform that connects brands like LVMH and L’Oreal to Chinese consumers – with her Instagram influencer status

Jan 18 , 2022

Charlene Ree’s company EternityX uses AI to connect famous global brands with the China market. Photo: Handout

XXIV 2021

She’s worked with LVMH, L’Oreal, Peninsula Hotels and P&G and her AI platform now has offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou in China, and in Australia and Singapore

She also sold digital media solutions agency Httpool, and her favourite watch is a vintage Audemars Piguet jewellery watch that her dad gifted her mum

Instagram fashion influencer, mother of three and Hermès handbag lover, Charlene Ree founded AI marketing platform EternityX in 2018, and in just three years, the company has opened offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, as well as overseas in Australia and Singapore.

Born in Taiwan, educated in New York and based in Hong Kong, Ree’s cross-cultural background has translated well online, where she connects global brands such as LVMH, L’Oreal, Peninsula Hotels and P&G to Chinese consumers by transforming more than 960 million data points into more than 1,000 unique audience profile categories using her company’s in-house algorithm.

Precise timing is important to Ree’s business: “Timing or moments are a key factor in people’s mood, this is one of the key factors of our platform data process,” she explains. “Every data has its own life cycle. Detecting what time the user logs into their social media account or are active online – what they browse, what they buy, who they follow, what they subscribe to, what they share – allows us to deliver the right message precisely at the right time.

“For Instagram too, in order to build a sizeable audience, preparing compelling content is important, but finding the ideal posting time is also crucial,” continues Ree, who regularly posts her outfit of the day, luxury timepieces, bags and jewellery collections to her more than 87,000 followers. “The best way to do this is by constant testing to see which post time generates the most likes, attention, shares or followers.”

Charlene Ree with some of the EternityX team. Photo: Charlene Ree/LinkedIn

EternityX is Ree’s second successful business – previously she was managing director of Httpool, a digital media solutions agency which she sold in 2018.

And Ree is not the only entrepreneur in her family. “My mum is an entrepreneur herself, so whenever I need business advice, she’s the person I will go to. She’s an inspiration to me, being a mother of three and an entrepreneur. As for my dad, he’s the most generous person I know, he likes treating people to meals. And I definitely got that from him,” says Ree.

“My husband too inspired and supported me to follow my dream of starting my own business, not only once but twice. I can proudly say he’s my safety net. Even if things don’t go as planned, I know he will always be there for me as someone I can count on.”

Managing to spend time with her three children while running a business and keeping on top of her Instagram posts takes careful planning each day. Ree always has breakfast with her children and then sees them off to school before going to the office by 10am.